My Kind of Hunter
by Candyfairey
Summary: Elle is from the world of "The French Mistake" where Supernatural is her favorite television show and she's a total Dean girl. There are no such things as vampires and apocalypse happenings in Elle's world. But when Castiel and Sam save her and bring her to the Winchester's world will everything be like Elle thought it would? Dean/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer for entire fic: I only own my OC, Elle Hinton.**

 **AN: Okay so this is my third Supernatural fic and my second Dean/OC one. This one starts season 10 episode 1 "Black." The title is a play on words (is that what you call it?) from Billy Squier's song "My Kind of Lover." Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Stevie Wonder-Superstition**

 **Bachman Turner Overdrive-You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet**

Chapter 1

"Cas?" Sam was startled from a fitful sleep. He wasn't sleeping much lately with his brother out there, even by Hunter standards. He tried to grab a few hours every so often, but he was running on more coffee than sleep lately. He would not give up until he found Dean, even if it meant losing much needed sleep.

"We have to go," Cas stated, standing by the foot of Sam's bed.

"Go where?"

"You remember the spell Balthazar did that sent you and Dean into a parallel world?"

"Ugh," Sam ran a hand through his hair and yawned. "You mean the, the _Supernatural_ show thing? Where I was a…Padalesski or something?"

"Yes, that very one."

"Why do we need to go there?" Sam asked as he got out of bed and pulled on a red plaid shirt over his white under shirt.

"There's a young girl who needs our help. Before Metatron was locked away he said something about her, her importance."

"Importance in what?" Sam asked as he buttoned up his shirt and proceeded to roll the sleeves up to just below his elbow.

"That I don't know yet."

"And you trust Metatron?"

"I believe his words about Elle were sincere."

"Elle?" Sam asked, pulling on his boots.

"I've had an angel watching her since Metatron told me of her. Just in case."

"That's how you know she's in danger?"

"I fear someone, something, from this world has made their way into hers and has been watching her as well. And they do not have good intentions. We need to protect her, bring her back here. She'll end up in this world one way or another, according to Metatron."

Sam nodded. "And it would be best if she was with us. We should bring whoever's after her if we can, they might know why she's important."

"I'm thinking the same thing as well."

"Alright, well I know we have the ingredients for the spell around here somewhere. You sure you want to do this? I mean with your stolen grace and everything?"

As if meaning to emphasize Sam's hesitation Cas went into a fit of coughing.

"I must do this. We must do this. For whatever unknown reason we cannot let anyone else get their hands on her," Cas insisted.

~O.o~

Elle was on her way to her car on campus. She'd just come out of her last class for the day, Adolescent Literature. She was excited to get home, tonight was the season premiere of her favorite television show, _Supernatural_. She was kind of nervous to be honest. She, like many others, had freaked out when Dean's eyes opened in the season finale and were solid black. He was a demon and she did not like it. Sure Dean was hot when he was a bad ass, but a demon? That was different, way different. She'd just unlocked the doors with the clicker and put her book bag in the back seat when hands went around her.

"Don't scream," the male voice said in her ear. "Scream and I'll break something."

Elle's heart was pounding and she wanted to do the exact opposite of what whoever had his arms around her just said. Adrenaline kicked in and she fought back, kicking, hitting, slapping, and punching wherever she could. She realized her blows barely had any impact on her assailant so she stopped when he grabbed a handful of her brown hair and yanked her face up to his. Her eyes widened when his eyes went completely black. In a second they were back to normal but they'd been black long enough. A million thoughts of how impossible his eyes were started to go through her mind when he was hit on the back of the head.

The demon's grip loosened enough for her to get away from him. She was about to take off when she saw Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins wrestling with the man that attacked her. Only, they were dressed like their characters on the show and she was pretty sure they wouldn't be in Georgia, at least not this time of year.

Standing, her feet feeling like they consisted of lead, she watched the scene before her. Her heart continued to pound as she saw the man get out of Cas's grip and punch him hard in the face before quickly turning to Sam and grabbing his arm. Sam let out an agonized yell as the man's other arm gripped his shoulder and pulled. Cas staggered up behind the demon and grabbed him from behind, slapping a set of cuffs on his hands. Elle's vision went as black as that demon's eyes.

~O.o~

Elle woke with a headache and shot up. She was in an unfamiliar bed, in a slightly familiar room that resembled Sam and Dean's rooms in the Men of Letters bunker. Before she could take anything else in the door opened.

"You're up."

She grabbed her glasses off the nightstand where she suspected either Sam or Cas had set them and put them on. She stared at Sam, open-mouthed.

"Um, well first off, I'm not Jared-what's his name," he started, looking a little awkward. "I'm Sam Winchester. I know that where you're from this is all just a TV show. I've been there remember?"

She nodded.

"I have a lot to tell you but first you should eat something."

"So that's…that was Cas with you?" she finally spoke up, her voice sounding a bit off from sleep.

"Yeah. That was Cas. How are you feeling?" Sam asked as he stepped further into the room.

"Like I'm having a very vivid dream. An albeit awesome one, but still, just a dream."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle. "Well, you are definitely not dreaming. Come on. Let me fix you something to eat."

Elle was sitting across from Sam at a table, slowly eating the grilled cheese Sam made for her. They were both quiet as they eyed each other and she took in her surroundings. She was still unsure as to what was going on.

Sam was wary about bringing a complete stranger into the bunker but if Cas had reason to believe Metatron's word that she was important then so did he.

"So, the demon that attacked you last night is in the dungeon," Sam spoke up.

"So that was a demon?"

"Yeah."

She set down her food. "I saw his eyes; they were black for a second. But, I mean, this is crazy."

"Hey," Sam put his hands up. "You've already made me pinch you twice. You're not dreaming."

"But why did it attack me? And if I was in a…parallel world, as you call it, how did you know?"

"Cas."

She bit her lip. "Do you know why it attacked me?"

"That's what we're going to find out."

Elle and Sam looked up as Cas came in to the room. Elle took the angel before her in. She admitted to herself that he didn't look too good, probably due to his stolen grace. 'Man, are his eyes blue' she thought as she stood up to greet him. Her heart was pounding as it had when she first sat in the chair across from Sam.

"Hi, I'm Elle, um thank you for saving me from that…demon." She looked at Sam. "Thank you too. I'm sorry your shoulder was hurt because of me."

"No, no it's okay," Sam said.

Elle looked back at Cas. "You're taller than I expected."

"Uh, you're welcome. And thank you, I think."

Elle hesitated but then threw her arms around Cas. Cas's brow furrowed as he awkwardly hugged her back.

She let go and stepped back a bit. "Sorry, I…just really wanted to do that."

Elle looked at Sam again. "By the way you are most definitely as tall as I expected."

Sam laughed and stood from his seat. "Let's interrogate a demon."

~O.o~

"Why did you go after her?" Cas barked as the demon screamed from the burn of holy water.

"Because, she'll be important."

"Why?" Sam inquired. He'd been careful to keep Elle behind him during the interrogation. Even though the demon was in the devil's trap and chains he didn't want her to get too close and she had no problem staying behind Sam either. When they first walked in he'd flashed his black eyes at her and she froze. It was unnerving and made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"She'll be important," the demon repeated.

"In what? To whom?" Cas asked.

"No one knows yet actually. It's been kind of frustrating for those I work for. We just know she'll play a large part, possibly a pivotal part."

"A part in what? Who are you working for?" Sam asked.

The demon chuckled. "Sorry, I can't tell you that."

"You've told us all you know?" Sam asked.

When the demon nodded Sam pulled out an angel blade and cut the demon's vessel's skin.

"I've told you all I know!" it hissed.

Sam and Cas shared a look and then Sam plunged the angel blade into the demon. Elle watched, taking a step back as the demon and his vessel died. She'd seen that a hundred times on the show but to see it in real life was something else entirely.

"I think I'm gonna go lie down," she said.

"You okay?" Sam asked as he turned to look at her.

She pushed her glasses up her nose, "This is just a lot to take in."

Sam nodded in agreement and told her he'd wake her if anything came up.

 **AN: Well that's it for the first chapter! Also, the OC wears glasses, so shout out to all the ladies reading this fic that wear glasses on a regular basis like me, 'cause I rarely see that in a fic, or book, or movie, or TV show, and so many people wear glasses! Please review!**

 **Sam: #Shoulder #YourFaultCas**

 **Cas: #Don'tBlameMe**

 **Elle: #WhatTheHellIsEvenGoingOn**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: And, on to the next one! Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Bachman Turner Overdrive-Hey You**

Chapter 2

After she slept for a couple more hours Elle wandered into the kitchen.

"You hungry?"

Elle gasped and jumped at Sam's voice.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay; you just scared me a bit."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good, thanks," she smiled.

"You want to go grab a bite to eat? Cas wants me to drop him off somewhere and I figured we could do some shopping? You could use some clothes and things, since you may be here for who knows how long."

She'd been so disoriented she hadn't bothered to think about the fact that all she had with her was the clothes she wore, a light brown zip up hoodie, and her black Keds. She also still had her purse on her when Sam and Cas rushed her out of the parking lot after the attack so she had some personal items, but not much. "Sounds good to me."

~O.o~

After dropping off Cas, Sam and Elle grabbed lunch at a diner where they both had grilled chicken Caesar salads and strawberry milkshakes.

"So," Sam started after swallowing a large bite of his salad. "I'll get you a phone since yours got lost in the attack. You'll need some clothes and if you want some things for your room we can get those too. I don't know how long you'll be here but if that demon was telling the truth it might be a while." Sam wanted Elle to be comfortable while she was at the bunker. He felt bad for her, to be so suddenly tossed into a world that the night before she'd believed was just a TV show. He was surprised she hadn't had a full-on freak out yet but so far she seemed to be handling the situation well.

"Do you think he was telling the truth?" Elle asked over her shake.

"Do you?"

She shrugged. "I'm asking you, you're the hunter. You're the one who deals with this kind of stuff."

"You watch the show though. You know some stuff, and a whole lot about me and my brother, probably Cas too."

She smirked. "Oh yeah." Sam was drinking his milkshake when she added, "I've sort of seen you guys have sex."

Sam almost spit out some of his shake and his face flushed in embarrassment.

Elle burst into laughter, slapping her hand onto the table and leaning her head over it. She was still laughing as she leaned back in the booth. When she saw Sam's unamused expression she laughed harder, so much so that a few tears started to escape from the corners of her eyes. She wiped the tears away, "Okay…okay. I'm sorry. Actually I'm not sorry. That was funny as Hell."

Sam just shook his head.

"It's not like _Game of Thrones_ sex Sam, just, you know, a little skin and stuff. No private bits or anything."

Sam still didn't look amused. "Okay…you know just because I love the show doesn't mean I can actually hunt. If I'm going to be here for a while it would be useful to learn a few things."

"You're right and I'll teach you when I can but…" he trailed off.

"You're main focus is finding Dean."

"Yeah," he sighed. His eyes widened. "Wait," he leaned forward over his food. "You watch the show?"

She could see where this was going. "Yes but I don't know where he is. Season 10 premiered last night, so, I missed it. I have no idea Sam, I'm sorry."

Sam sat back in his seat, a look of disappointment on his face as he went back to eating.

"But…" Sam looked up at her, a piece chicken on his fork, on its way to his mouth. "He was….Crowley was with him, at the end of last season."

"Crowley?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "There's something you need to know."

"What?"

"You're not going to like this." Sam noticed her nervously twisting a small bronze four-leaf clover ring on her finger. Sam quickly grabbed her hand to still her action. "You might not even believe me," she said. She hoped he would, it might help them find Dean that much faster.

Sam waited in silence, his hand still over hers.

"Okay, well you know how after Dean died you tried to summon Crowley but he didn't come?" she whispered.

Sam nodded.

"Well that's because he was already in the bunker. With Dean."

Sam's eyes widened. "What? Why?"

"Well obviously as a Dean girl I was seriously upset, like full on crying, and then Crowley starts spouting this stuff about some myth about the Mark of Cain and I was all 'what are you blubbering on about!? Save him!' but, so Crowley says, he thought it was just a myth, if you believe that. You can't be too sure with Crowley. He said something about how Cain died but the Mark wouldn't let go so it brought him back," she paused. "As a demon."

"What!?"

"Shhh…" there were people staring at them now. "The Mark brought Dean back Sam. His eyes opened and they were black."

Sam's heart was pounding. What Elle said before was right, he didn't believe her. He stood from the booth and pulled out enough cash to pay for their food and a tip and left.

Elle grabbed her army green bag from beside her and went after him.

"Sam! Sam!" she called as she followed him to the car and slid into the passenger's seat. "Sam…"

"Let's just get your stuff okay. I need to think about what you said."

Elle nodded.

"Hey," Sam spoke up after a while. "What's a Dean girl?"

 **AN: And that's all for the second chapter! Please review! Oh and if you like it so far you can follow and favorite too, pretty please with a Sam on top? ;)**

 **Sam: #WhereAreAllTheSamGirls?**

 **Elle: Shrugs**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Okay, so I know there are sentence fragments, etc. in my stories but that's okay. If it were a formal paper for school it would be different. This, however, is creative writing and I think it's okay to be a little Emily Dickinson when it comes to that. Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **James Gang-Funk #49**

Chapter 3

They were back at the bunker and Sam helped her carry the shopping bags to her room. "I'll be two doors down if you need me," he told her when he sat the last bag on her bed.

"Thank you Sam, really," Elle told him. "I'll need to wash my new jeans so if you have any jeans that need washing I can throw them in too."

"Okay, thanks, I'll get 'em for you. And you're welcome. Actually you should thank," he pulled the credit card from his pocket. "Fred Nugent."

"Pretty close to Ted Nugent isn't it?"

Sam laughed as he left the room.

Elle took the tags off of a few new pairs of skinny jeans and tossed them in a pile. She just got the basics and Sam insisted on her getting a heavier jacket so she ended up with a long army green jacket.

After her clothes were put up she set to decorating her new room with lavender sheets and a matching comforter, a few vanilla candles, and finally some star string lights above the headboard. She went to find Sam.

Elle found him in what she knew immediately was Dean's room. She stood in the doorway, afraid to enter. She didn't know if Sam would want her in there. "Hey," she spoke quietly.

Sam turned around. "Hey, you all set up?"

She nodded towards the piece of paper in his hand. "What's that?"

Sam hesitated but showed it to her anyway. 'SAMMY LET ME GO,' she read and she looked at Sam, worried.

"I've thought about what you told me. I thought maybe a possible explanation for what you said was that Crowley took his body so one of his demons could use it but what you say, it, it just makes more sense. Crowley's the one that told us about the mark and the first blade. I don't doubt he would hide something like a myth that the mark has the ability to resurrect whoever has it."

Elle nodded. "Exactly."

~O.o~

The next morning Sam was on his laptop and Elle sat across from him eating cereal. She wanted to explore the bunker but was still a little freaked out about everything that was happening. She looked up when Sam sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" she asked.

"Yes, it's, it's fine. I don't even know where to start, neither does Cas."

"There's nothing I can help with?"

Sam saw how desperate she was to help. He'd seen her fidgeting with her rings again, this time she was worrying the one on her other hand, silver and rose gold. He also noticed she hadn't eaten much, instead, now and again, chewing on her lower lip in thought.

"I don't…wait", he said, clicking on something on his laptop.

Elle got up from her seat and took the one beside him. _The Green Lake Gazette_ page was pulled up and the headline read "Missing Ohio Man Found Slain in Wisconsin." After they both read the article Sam pulled out his phone and called Cas.

After Sam hung up Elle spoke. "He doesn't sound too good."

"No he doesn't. I think the trip to get you took a lot out of him."

Elle felt bad, and responsible. If she wasn't needed for whatever the heck it was Cas might not be in such bad shape.

"Hey," Sam spoke up, catching her worrying her lip and ring again. "Let's pack and head out huh?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh, first, I need to take your picture so I can make you an I.D. What alias do you want?"

"Um…Elle Jett."

"Joan Jett?" Sam asked.

"Why not? You guys use the names of musicians all the time."

~O.o~

They stopped on the way so Elle could get something that looked like what an Agent would wear which ended up being a black tailored pant suit with a cream colored blouse and she opted for patent burgundy kitten heels. As she stood in the mirror at the store she admired herself. She'd never worn a pant suit in her life but she could get used to it.

"Looks good," Sam said.

"I am definitely channeling my inner Olivia Pope," she smiled.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Um, _Scandal_?"

Sam had no idea what she was talking about.

"Never mind. This is the one."

Now they had just arrived at the station. "Appreciate you coming down, Agent. But, I'm afraid you may have just cost Uncle Sam a tank of gas."

"Oh, why's that?" Sam asked.

"You came here to investigate Drew Neely's murder, right?"

"Right."

"Problem is, no one's certain it was a murder at all."

"Okay, what are we dealing with here? A Suicide?" Sam asked.

"Self-defense, more likely…Uh, the surveillance footage was corrupted. Our techies finally managed to clean up the file. Hold on a sec now. That John Doe is the one you want to keep your eye on."

Sam and Elle's eyes widened and they simultaneously said 'son of a bitch' when they realized that the John Doe was Dean. Sam, tall as he is, bent down a little so he could get a better view.

After they watched and re-watched the video footage they headed to the gas station where the incident took place. Sam was a bit freaked after seeing Dean's black eyes. "You were right. He's definitely a demon," he told her as they got into the car.

When they arrived Sam told Elle to wait in the car while he questioned the store clerk and when he came back out with Drew Neely's phone he showed her how to trace a call.

After Sam talked to Crowley and got back in the car Elle asked. "Why'd you let on you don't know what I told you?"

"I wanted him to say it himself and the less he thinks we know the better. It could help get Dean back."

"Maybe help save him," Elle added.

~O.o~

It was night and Sam and Elle changed back into regular clothes a few hours ago and were on the way to Beulah, North Dakota. Elle woke from her nap when the engine died.

"What happened?" she asked, still half-asleep.

"I don't know. I'll check it out. Stay here."

She watched in the rearview mirror as a man got out of a car behind them.

"Hey," Sam greeted the man.

"Need some help?" the stranger asked.

"Uh…yeah. I-I think so. It just died on me."

"Out here?"

"Yeah."

"Your ride really has it out for you, huh?"

"I guess so," Sam said. Elle watched as Sam went to open the hood.

"Give you a hand with that?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd appreciate it. Thanks."

Elle knew Sam was just humoring the guy, even she could feel something off with the situation. Once the hood was up their voices were muffled and she couldn't make out what they were saying. The next thing she knew she heard Sam yell out her name and she could make out the sounds of a scuffle. Before she could do anything the guy came over to the passenger door and yanked it open. "Well, hey there."

"What did you do to Sam?"

"Hey now, don't worry. If you cooperate and just let me tie you up I won't have to knock you out too and I would prefer to not hit a lady."

Her eyes narrowed and she thought about fighting back. The knife Sam had given her was tucked inside her new black combat boots. She held her arms up in front of her and when the guy reached into his pocket to get, she assumed whatever it was he was going to tie her hands with, she reached into her boot. As she pulled out the knife she swung it towards him. He jumped back, but not before the blade caught him on the cheek. He lunged forward and within seconds had the knife in one hand and had her pushed onto the ground.

"Well now I tried to do this the nice way," he said before pulling her head back by her hair and slamming it into the asphalt.

 **AN: Review?**

 **Sam: #Ow**

 **Elle: #DoubleOw**

 **Cole: #SorryNotSorry**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **The Living Daylights-Gasoline**

Chapter 4

Elle woke up a bit disoriented and with a pounding headache. She couldn't see anything and quickly realized there was a bag over her head and her hands were tied in front of her.

"Sam? Sam!?" she called out trying to get her hands unbound, desperately jerking and pulling against the restraints.

Instead of the voice she wanted to hear she heard the voice of the man that had knocked her and Sam out. "Now, now honey, Sam's all right and you will be too if Dean comes through."

'Dean?' she thought, 'what the Hell did he want with Dean? Was he a monster looking for revenge?' The man jerked her up out of the car and walked her forward. After a few yards the guy shoved her down into a chair and pulled the bag off her head. It was still night and she could make out, even without her glasses, that they were in a barn.

"Sam," she breathed out as the man tied her to the chair. Sam was seated about a foot away from her, tied up as well.

"Are you all right Elle?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," she breathed, trying to calm her racing heart.

Sam noticed the blood on her forehead and looked to the man. "You touch her again and you'll be sorry."

The man just laughed. "You're in no position to tell me what to do. I gave her a chance to cooperate but she didn't listen, came at me with a knife even," he pointed to his face, "thanks for that honey." He pulled Elle's glasses out of a pocket and shoved them on her face. "That better darlin'?" he chuckled.

Both Sam and Elle just glared at him.

"Who are you?" Sam asked.

"First time I broke my arm, my older brother, Davey, had me riding on the handles of his three-speed. Decided to pop us a wheelie. Look real fancy for all the little pretties outside the DQ. Well, we were looking mighty good for a little bit. And then, 'whoop!' Ass end over the teakettle, boy. Hurt like a son of a bitch. You're Sam Winchester. I think we both can agree on that. But you," he pointed at Elle. "I'm not quite sure who you are but if you're associated with Sam here then you must know his brother." He turned back to Sam, "You don't have a sister so…girlfriend? She's a bit young for you isn't she," he joked. "Anyway, your older brother Dean, well…he and I, we go way back."

"You're a hunter?" Sam asked.

"Sure. Yeah, we can go with that. Huntin' your brother counts, right?"

Sam scoffed. "I wouldn't do that."

The man just grinned. "Yeah."

"Trust me," Sam said.

"Yeah," Elle cut in. "That wouldn't be the smartest thing to do, not that you seem like the brightest star in the sky so far."

The smile fell from the guy's face and Sam spoke up. "Look, buddy, I-I don't know who you are, all right? I don't know what you want or what my brother did, but if you got any sense, I suggest you turn tail and run back to that army recruiting ad that spit you out in the first place. He's a monster."

"Well, he was. Yeah, he was…" he looked up, "many, many moons ago. But now he's prey." He got in Sam's face. "And I'm the monster now. I've got your cell phone so let's say we call ole Dean huh? See what he has to say?"

Sam and Elle watched as he called Dean, both of them wondering if he'd even pick up. It seemed he did when the guy spoke, "Well, Hell, I just may take you up on that."

They couldn't hear what Dean was saying on the other end and sat listening intently to what they could hear on their side.

"Me? Well, I'm karma brother…On your brother's phone…No, not yet. And as long as you show up where I tell you to show up, your brother and his little girlfriend will be just fine."

On the other end Dean cocked his head. "Well, well looks like my brother's been doin' more than just lookin' for me."

"You don't know her?"

"Last I checked Sam wasn't all that interested. And how do I even know either of them are alive?"

The man turned around to face Sam and Elle and held the phone out to Sam, "Speak."

When Sam didn't say anything he put the phone in front of Elle. "He says he doesn't know you but I don't know if I believe him, speak."

When Elle refused to say anything the guy went back over to Sam and punched him in the face. Elle yelped and cringed as Sam's head jerked back. The guy walked back over to Elle, "your turn."

"Elle."

"What?"

"You said you don't know who I am. My name is Elle. Elle Hinton."

"Now was that so hard?" he asked before putting the phone back up to his ear. "Proof of life."

"Dean!" Sam called out.

"Got a pen?...Well, that'll be a cold comfort to your dead brother and friend…well, I'll be sure to pass that on as I'm slittin' their throats."

The guy ended the call and turned back to them.

~O.o~

Elle could see that the sun was starting to come out as Sam was trying to convince the guy that monsters were real and she could see that the guy who had just said his name was Cole didn't believe him.

"He's telling the truth. Monsters are real and we're not psychos!" Elle tried.

Cole started to put on some gloves. "I guess…we are just gonna' have to do this the other way."

Elle watched, her heart racing again, as Cole picked up a hammer and grinned.

Cole smacked Sam across the face. "Where's Dean, Sam? Where is he?" He landed another blow and then another before yelling, "Where is he?!"

When Sam still didn't answer he swung again.

Tears were streaming down Elle's face and each time Cole took a swing at Sam she closed her eyes, unable to look. When Cole put one hand on Sam's neck and put pressure on Sam's hurt arm she yelled out, "Stop! Stop, please! What do you think we were doing out there on the road? We were looking for Dean too!"

"Shut up!" Cole yelled at her, focusing on Sam. He started to scream in Sam's face and apply more pressure to Sam's arm.

"Shove it up your ass," Sam said through gritted teeth.

"Okay. Okay. Okay, okay. I guess it's time to crank up the volume, then. Huh?" He let go of Sammy and grabbed the hammer he'd had earlier, placing it over Sam's left knee cap.

Elle couldn't stand it as she struggled against her restraints. While Cole had been focusing on Sam she'd been working on the ties on her hands. She didn't know what she would do if she got them off but she had to do something.

"Right there," Cole said, but Elle cut him off, "What you're doing makes you no better than the guy you're hunting," she spat.

Before anyone could say anything a ringtone started and Cole put down the hammer and took off his gloves. "Hey, darlin'. No, I'm good," he said, walking away. "No, everything's fine. Everything's just fine…Go ahead. Put him on."

Just as Sam noticed the keys with the knife on them that fell out of Cole's pocket when he got out his phone Elle leaned forward and snatched them up with her now free hands. Sam's eyes widened as she flicked open the blade and cut the rest of her restraints.

"I literally just got my hands free when he walked away," she explained now jumping up and using the blade to free Sam.

"You've got good prospects for a hunter after all," Sam said as he stood up and Elle handed him the keys and knife. "Okay let's go, quickly," Sam said and they made their way out of the back of the barn and took off running.

When they made it to a road they slowed down so Sam could call Cas and after that they paid a guy a few hundred bucks for the truck on his lawn.

~O.o~

Sam and Elle tracked Dean down to a strip club where the bouncer, with his own arm in a sling, identified Dean from a photo. He confirmed that Dean had been there and the cops were called on him as well, but he skipped out before they showed up.

Sam and Elle were now leaving the motel they'd spent the night at, grabbing a few hours' sleep.

"Hello, Bullwinkle."

Elle turned around with Sam and her eyes widened as she was face to face with Crowley. "Son of a bitch," she breathed out.

"And you are?" Crowley inquired, smiling as Sam pulled Elle behind him.

"Um, Elle."

"Elle?" His eyes narrowed. "What's a young thing like you doing with a Winchester, hmmm?"

"It's…complicated," she answered, unable to keep from peering around Sam to look, wide-eyed, at the king of Hell.

Crowley nodded and looked to Sam. "She's a bit young for you mate. You miss me?"

Sam pulled a knife out. "So much."

"You're here for Dean. I'm here to give him to you."

Elle's brow furrowed.

"What?" Sam asked, holding the knife out in front of him.

"The little prat's bad for business. He's…uncontrollable. Must be the mark. Anyway, Dean's your problem now—again, forever."

"Then where is he?"

"First there's the small matter of my finder's fee."

 **Elle: #Crowrey!**

 **Sam: #Crowrey?**

 **Elle: Has fit of giggles.**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Lorde-Ladder Song**

Chapter 5

Sam and Elle just pulled up to the bar where Crowley said Dean was at.

"I don't think you should go inside Elle," Sam said, looking at her as she hopped out of the truck.

"No, I-I want to. What if you need me?" She shrugged, knowing that was unlikely, but still.

"Okay, just stay behind me okay? And if things get out of control I want you to run."

"You want me to run?"

Sam walked over to her. "Yeah…look, you, you're important, for whatever reason, and I promise we'll find out why, but you need to stay safe all right?"

Her chest tightened and she nodded. If she was being honest it felt nice, Sam being so protective of her, even if it was just because she was or would be important. "Okay. If things get crazy, I'll run," she promised.

"Good." Sam turned to head into the bar.

"Wait!" she called.

Sam stopped and Elle walked up to him and threw her arms around his middle. Sam smiled and returned the gesture.

When Elle stepped back she said, "I just realized I hugged Cas but not you."

Sam smiled and handed her a bottle of Holy water. "Let's do this."

They entered the bar slowly and they spotted Dean at a piano. Elle's heart started racing. She was in the same place as Dean Winchester. The Dean-girl in her reared up and she stepped forward. Sam put his arm out and she nodded at him.

"Hiya, Sam," Dean said.

Elle's heart picked up speed and she could feel herself tremble a little when Dean looked up at her and Sam.

"Hey, Harv, why don't you go grab a smoke?" Sam and Elle watched the guy behind the bar leave.

"Who winged ya?" Dean asked Sam, referring to his injured arm.

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. Who's this?" he turned his attention to Elle. "You must be the Elle I heard on the phone. How'd my baby brother manage a little piece like you?" Dean looked at Sam again and smirked as Elle looked away. "I don't mean to pry but she's a bit young for you isn't she? I'm gone for a bit and you start robbin' the cradle, huh?"

Elle and Sam rolled their eyes. If someone said 'she's a bit young for you' one more time!

Dean spoke again, addressing Sam. "I told ya to let me go."

"You know I can't do that."

"So you track me down and bring a chick with you too? Really?"

Sam ignored him and Elle did not like the feeling that was forming in her gut.

"By the way," Sam spoke, "Your, uh, pal Crowley…sold you out."

"Sounds like him," Dean answered as he grabbed his blade and got up.

Sam put his hand out. "Dean, hold on a second. You don't have to do this." As Dean moved Sam moved and he was careful to keep Elle behind him. "We know how to cure demons. You remember that?"

"Little Latin, lot of blood. It rings a bell. Did you ever stop to think that if I wanted to be cured, I wouldn't've bailed?"

"That was Crowley."

Dean was filling his glass from the bar. "It really wasn't."

"It doesn't matter, all right? 'Cause whatever went down, whatever happened, we will fix it."

"Will we? 'Cause right now, I'm doing all I can not to come over there and rip your throats out…with my teeth." Elle's stomach tightened and she reached out and grabbed on to the back of Sam's jacket. This Dean was giving her chill bumps. "I'm givin' you two a chance. You should take it."

"We're gonna have to pass."

Dean sighed. "Well, I'm not walking out that door with you. I'm just not. So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill me?"

Sam shook his head. "No."

"Why? You don't know what I've done. I might have it coming."

"Well, I don't care." Sam looked to Elle and she knew he wanted her to stay at the top of the steps. "Because you are my brother. And I'm here to take you home."

Dean just took a swig from his glass, leaning on the bar. "Hmm." He started laughing. "Ah! 'You're my brother, and I'm here to take ya home.' " Dean poured another glass of alcohol. "Yeah, what is this a Lifetime movie? Huh? With your puppy-dog eyes? Oh, thanks, Sammy. I needed that."

Sam didn't say anything. Instead he pulled out the cuffs.

"You really think those are gonna work?" Dean asked, leaning casually against the bar again.

"There's one way to find out," Sam answered.

Elle ducked when she heard the sound of glass breaking and she and Sam turned around to see a canister on the floor, quickly filling the place with smoke. She and Sam started coughing and he grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. He had his arms around her, easily picking her up and carrying her with him to an exit. When they made it outside he collapsed on to the ground. Sam got up only to see Cole in front of him. Sam hovered over Elle protectively as the man's fist made contact with his face, knocking him out. Elle stayed down next to Sam as Dean sauntered out around the building.

"Wow," she heard Cole say and saw him pull his gun out. "It's really you." He reached down and pulled Elle up by the back of her jacket.

"Now, now. Let the girl go," Dean said as he walked closer.

"So she does mean something to you," Cole said.

"I don't even know her," Dean answered.

"Well if I cared about someone that's exactly what I would say to protect them," Cole said before slamming the butt of his gun into her face.

Dean's face tightened. "You really shouldn't have done that because I really don't know her but I already beat the Hell out of a guy for putting his hands on a woman. I might not have a heart of gold but I won't stand for a guy hitting a woman especially when it's apparent my brother's protective of her."

Elle was still coughing the smoke out of her lungs as she pressed her fingers to her cheek where Cole had just hit her. She pulled her fingers away to see he'd broken skin. She moved over to where Sam was laying on the pavement. She turned him on his back and shook his shoulder. "Sam," she said in his ear, "Sam!" He was knocked out and she looked up to see Dean and Cole still facing off. When she looked back she realized Sam didn't have the cuffs. When Dean and Cole started to fight she pulled the end of her hoodie up to try and cover her nose and mouth and crouched down, going back in the door she and Sam just came out of. A good bit of smoke still lingered in the place so she held her breath and went towards the bar. With one hand she swiped across the floor. Her eyes were watering, blurring her vision, but her hand came across the cuffs and she grabbed them.

Back outside Dean and Cole were still fighting and Sam had woken up. He turned to her and she held up the cuffs for him before she went into a coughing fit.

"Your face…" he started but she shook her head. They had a job to do. "Come on," Sam said.

Elle nodded, pulled out the bottle of Holy water, and followed Sam.

As Cole slid to the ground in front of Dean, Dean's back turned, Sam nodded to her and she dowsed Dean with the Holy water. She could hear the sizzling as the water burned him and he groaned. Sam grabbed one of Dean's flailing arms and put a cuff on it, then the other hand.

"Stop! It's over!"

Dean groaned and the look he gave Sam made Elle take a few steps back, clutching the bottle Holy water.

 **Elle: #HolyDeanmon!**

 **Sam: #Deanmon?**

 **Dean: #SonOfABitch #Deanmon #Really?**

 **Elle: Shrugs.**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Redlight King-Comeback**

Chapter 6

Now Elle and Sam stood in front of the Impala across from Crowley. When she first saw Baby she stood frozen for a second. She was beautiful. "This is…its Baby!" She smiled at Sam.

Sam laughed, his hands on Dean. "Uh, yeah."

"Whoa," Elle breathed out as Sam tossed her the keys. She unlocked it for Sam and he then shoved Dean into the backseat.

Elle's cheeks hurt from so much smiling after she'd circled the car slowly and took everything in. Sam made her sit in the passenger's seat while he kneeled down on the asphalt and patched her cheek up.

"You okay?" he asked her as Dean watched the pair of them interact.

"Yeah, thanks," she answered. She reached out and tucked some hair that had swooped down into his face behind his ear. She might not be a Sam-girl but she'd always wanted to do that.

"Well, you don't need stitches, so that's good, but it's starting to bruise pretty badly." He took the first aid kit back to the trunk and came back with a bottle of ibuprofen. He handed her two and she took them gratefully.

Now she stood next to Sam. He'd decided against letting her sit in the car alone with Dean, even if he would only be a few feet away. He worried about what Dean could try and pull if given the slightest chance.

"A pleasure doing business," Crowley started, his hand out, eager for the first blade.

Sam was hesitant to hand it over. "What are you gonna do with it?"

"Toss it into a volcano. Leave it on the moon. I'll get creative." Sam looked at Elle and Elle noticed Dean watching them. "Believe me," Crowley continued." I don't want Dean getting his hands on the precious any more than you do. Your brother knows I ratted. He tends to hold a grudge. I don't want to get…boned." Elle chuckled and Crowley tilted his head to look at her.

"What's so funny love?"

She shrugged.

"You keep looking at me like…like you know me," he said, staring at her.

"Like I said, it's complicated."

"What did you say your last name was love?"

Elle suppressed a smile and lurched forward, taking both Crowley, Sam, and Dean off guard when she wrapped her arms around him. Crowley awkwardly patted her back, staring at the young girl in his arms with a look of sheer confusion on his face.

Elle stepped back. "Sorry…um, I should stop doing that. Sorry, king of Hell. You, uh, you don't get many hugs. It's Hinton," she blurted out everything rather quickly.

She walked back over to Sam and he gave her a questioning look. "Sorry, the fangirl in me took over."

"Fangirl?" Crowley asked.

She bit her lip.

"It's complicated," Crowley repeated Elle's earlier words.

Sam handed Crowley the blade. "This doesn't make us square. If I see you again-" he pointed.

"Oh, stop it, Samantha. No one likes a tease." He turned to Elle, "See you later S.E." he winked and was gone.

Again Elle suppressed a smile at Crowley's remark referencing one of her favorite authors. As she and Sam went to get in the Impala she noticed the exchange between Dean and Crowley. The look on Dean's face scared the Hell out of her, even if it wasn't directed at her. She never thought if she ever met Dean Winchester she'd be afraid of him, but she was. Then again, that wasn't Dean, not really. At least that's what she hoped.

~O.o~

It was dark now and Elle had her head against the window as Sam drove them back to the bunker.

"This thing is filthy," Sam spoke up.

"It's just a car, Sam," Dean answered.

Elle's mouth opened in shock. She never, ever thought Dean would be so indifferent when it came to his baby, even if he was a demon.

"It's just a…car. Wow," Sam scoffed, matching her own thoughts. "You really have gone dark."

"You have no idea," Dean said.

"You know what, Dean? I saw what happened back there. You could have killed that guy, but you didn't. You took mercy on him."

Elle added as she turned in her seat to face him, "I heard what you said to him too, after he hit me. You might be all indifferent about everything but you said…you cared that Cole hit me, not because you know me but because you saw how protective Sam was of me back there. You might not care about much, but you still care about Sam."

Dean scoffed "And you think you know me so well?"

"More than you think I do," she mumbled as she faced the front again.

Dean turned back to Sam. "Cole. You call that mercy? Imagine you spend your whole life huntin' down the guy that knifed your father. When you finally find him…he whips you like a dog," he chuckled. "How do you think that feels? That kid's gonna spend his whole life knowing that he had his shot and that he couldn't beat me. That ain't mercy. That's the worst thing I could've done to him…And what I'm gonna do to you, Sammy…well, it ain't gonna be mercy, either."

Sam shared a look with Elle.

"You won't touch him," Elle spoke up.

Dean laughed. "Oh, that's real cute. I'm not one to hit a girl but when I get my hands on him, if you interfere, I won't hesitate to show you what I can do."

Elle kept her face stoic. "Like I said, you still care about Sam. The real Dean Winchester is in there somewhere."

"Yeah, what makes you so sure?"

"Because he has to be."

A little while later she kept nodding off, the low sounds of _Blue Oyster Cult_ playing through the speakers were starting to lull her to sleep. At some point she ended up with her head on Sam's leg.

"So what's the deal here, huh?" Dean asked. "Is she actually your girlfriend?"

"What? No, she's…she's important."

"Ah, so, you haven't quite made it official?"

Sam sighed. "No, Dean, we aren't dating, or anything. Cas said that Metatron said there was this girl in a parallel world to ours who will be important, here."

"Something big could be coming up and you want to get me back to normal? Knowing the things I'm capable of?"

"Like I could be sure you would even be on my side, whatever side that is."

"You've got a point. What other universe?"

"You remember the one where our lives were a show that was filmed in Canada?"

"Oh yeah, that was pretty mind-bending."

"Well, she's from that universe. Cas and I used the same spell Balthazar used to send us there. When we got there a demon was in the middle of attacking her, he messed up my arm. We brought him back and questioned him but we didn't really get anything out of him. So, I promised to look out for her, to show her the ropes of being a hunter."

"Wow, and you think I've gone dark."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you wanna' bring this poor young girl into the hunting world? That's cruel Sammy."

Sam shook his head. "Dean, she's obviously meant to be here, otherwise Cas and I wouldn't have gone to her world. I might as well teach her how to take care of herself, how to be a hunter, especially if she's going to have some important role that we have literally no idea about."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"Guys," Elle spoke up quietly. "Shut up."

 **Dean: #Pissed**

 **Sam: #GetOverIt**

 **Elle: #YouTwoAreBreakingMyHeart**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Cherri Bomb-Shake the Ground Free**

Chapter 7

Sam insisted Elle come with him to get the blood for Dean. He didn't want her there just in case there was any possibility of Dean getting loose. Both Sam and Elle were surprised by how easy it was for them to be around the other. Despite the fact that they were from two different worlds, and Sam barely knew Elle, it was easy for him to be protective of her. She reminded him of Charlie a bit, in that little sister kind of way.

They were almost back to the bunker now.

"We're gonna' save Dean, Sam."

"Yeah, I hope so."

"No, Sam. We are. We have to. What else can we do? If this doesn't work, we'll try something else."

"Or I'll have to kill him."

"Maybe you won't have to, Sam. Maybe Cas will find something. Crowley's not happy with Dean so maybe he could find something too."

"Are you always this positive?"

"I…try to be but," she sighed. "I don't know. Being here, with you, in Baby, in this world, it's different. I feel different but I'm not sure how, I just. I've fantasized about this, about ending up on the road with the Winchesters. But, I keep my feet on the ground when my heads in the clouds, you know. I knew it could never actually happen, that's why fanfiction is so fun. But here I am. I'm still not convinced I'm not dreaming."

"You don't read that Wincest stuff do you?"

"No, no I steer clear of that although I…"

"Although…?"

"I mostly just stick to Dean and OC fics when it comes to Supernatural."

"OC?"

"Other Character. It's a character that's not in the canon. The writer makes up a new one to add to the fandom."

"Wow," Sam said as he parked in front of the bunker. "Well, let's go save Dean, Dean-girl."

"You're not gonna start calling me that are you?"

Sam chuckled. "Not if you don't want me to."

"You won't tell Dean either, will you?"

"Why don't you want him to know you're a Dean-girl?"

"Because it will just be weird. I mean how does this sound? Hi, I'm Elle Hinton, and I'm in love with you even though a little more than a day ago I was pretty sure you were a fictional character."

Sam chuckled. "Uh, yeah, you're right."

Now they were heading in to the dungeon.

"Really?" Dean asked, seeing the cooler in Sam's hand.

"For whatever it's worth. I got your blood type." All playfulness from the moment before was gone from Sam's voice.

"Sam, I know you think you're gonna try and fix me, but did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't want to be fixed? Just let me go live my life. I won't bother you. Either of you. What do you care?"

Dean turned to Elle, voicing the same question. "What do you care?"

Elle decided to stay silent.

Sam spoke up, "What do I care?" He shook his head. "Ritum sacrum Hanc terram consecro."

"You think I'm just gonna sit here like Crowley, getting all weepy while you shoot me up? Well, screw that. I don't want this."

"Yeah, I pretty much figured that out."

"You don't even know if this is gonna work, do you? You know, I got a Hell of a lot more running through me than just demon juice."

"Mark of Cain—got it."

"That's right."

Sam turned to Elle, who was sitting on the edge of the table. "Are you sure you want to be in here?"

She nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you alone in this."

Sam nodded, grateful for her presence, as he turned back to Dean. "Buckle up."

"Sammy…you know I hate shots."

"I hate demons," Sam answered.

When Sam stepped forward Dean's eyes went black and he growled at Sam, making Elle jump a bit. Sam doused Dean in Holy water and stuck the needle in his arm, quickly pressing the plunger. Dean groaned in pain.

"Look, we got a whole bunch more of these to go. You could make it a lot easier on yourself."

Dean looked like he'd rather break Sam's uninjured arm.

Both Sam and Elle's eyes widened when Dean began reacting to the blood, groaning and grunting in pain. Sam gave Dean another dose of blood and he continued to groan in pain.

"For all you know, you could be killin' me," Dean said.

"Or…you're just messing with me. Either way, the lore doesn't say anything about exceptions to the cure." Sam leaned back against the table next to Elle.

Dean chuckled, looking at Elle and Sam. "Look at you two best buds. Sam's killing me, while you just watch."

"He's not killing you. He's curing you," Elle insisted.

" 'The lore.' Hunters…Men of Letters. What a load of crap it all is."

Sam just glanced at Elle.

"Oh, you got nothin'? Dean asked.

"You want me to debate you? This isn't even the real you I'm talking to."

"Oh, it's the real me, all right," Dean nodded.

Both Sam and Elle looked doubtful at Dean's words.

"The _new_ real me-the me that sees things for what they really are. Winchesters-do gooders-fightin' the natural order. Let me tell you somethin'-guys like me, we are the natural order. It's the way it was set up."

"Guys like me still gotta do what we can."

"Don't be so full of yourself, Sammy. 'Cause, see, from where I'm sittin' there ain't much difference from what I turned into to what you already are."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"What does that mean?" Elle asked. "Wait."

Both boys looked at her.

"I remember this from the promo. There was a lot of speculation about what you did after it aired. What did you do Sam?" She looked to him.

Sam shook his head.

"I know what you did when you went lookin' for me. I know how far you went," Dean started.

"Sammy?" Elle asked, her brow furrowed.

"I don't-," Sam started but Dean cut him off.

"Oh, look at that. She calls you Sammy too, huh? I'm hurt. But isn't that just cute. If you two aren't meetin' between the sheets…"

"Shut up," Sam said. "Elle has been here for two days, and you know that. You know where she's from; you know this was all just a show to her."

"Nice try Sam, but we're not gonna change subjects that easily. "What you did…Crowley told me all about it, so, let me ask you…which one of us is really the monster? Hmm?"

Sam let out a breath and looked down.

"Startin' to come back to you now?" Dean asked.

Sam looked away from Dean and at Elle as he reluctantly launched into the story of what he did to find Dean. He was loath to tell Elle as she stared at him, biting on her bottom lip, her brown eyes looking at him expectantly. He liked how she looked at him since they met, like he was one of the most amazing people she'd ever met. She looked up to him, and not just from a height point of view. Surely though if she'd seen the show she knew what both he and his brother were capable of, what lengths they would go to to save the other, and she would know that it wasn't always pretty either.

Sam was finishing telling Elle what he did.

"Oh, and so you know, I killed Lester myself," Dean said. "And that wife of his married the tattooed guy."

Sam turned his back to Dean and slammed an empty syringe onto the table, making Elle jump. He leaned on the table. "I never meant-"

"Who cares what you meant?!" Dean exclaimed.

Elle could see Sam regretted getting Lester killed, regretted having Dean and Elle know what he did.

"That line that we thought was so clear between us and the things that we hunted ain't so clear, is it? Wow. You might actually be worse than me."

Elle continued to watch Sam's face closely, seeing the anger grow on it before he turned back around to face Dean.

"I mean, you took a guy at his lowest, used him, and it cost him his life and his soul." Sam advanced on Dean. "Nice work." Dean chuckled just before Sam plunged the needle into the back of his neck.

"Ahh!" Dean grunted and started yelling as Sam backed up.

Sam threw the syringe down on the table.

"Let me ask you this, Sammy. If this doesn't work…we both know what you got to do to me, right?"

Sam looked at Elle and she shook her head.

"You got the stomach for that, Sam?!" Dean bellowed.

Elle ignored Dean and got Sam to look her in the eyes, placing a hand on either side of his face. "Remember what I said in the Impala?"

Sam nodded and Elle nodded back. "He's just trying to get under your skin. There's more than one option. There has to be. This is Dean here. You, Cas, me, we'll do everything we can to get Dean back."

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He wrapped his arms around Elle and pulled her against him until she was almost standing. The height of the table allowed Elle to see over Sam's shoulder and she saw the smirk on Dean's face. She pulled back and hopped off the table.

Elle took a few quick steps and slapped Dean hard across the face.

Dean just smirked even more.

"You think this is funny?! He's your brother! He's trying to save you! From yourself! From the mark! He's the same brother that you sold your soul for!" She was full on screaming at him. "He's the same brother that you endured torture on the racks in Hell for! The Sammy that said yes to Lucifer to stop the freakin' apocalypse! The Sammy you were willing to play Death for a day to get his soul back for! The Sam that you stopped from closing the gates of Hell because if he went through with the last trial it would have killed him! You allowed Hell to remain open to save him!" She pointed at Sam who was standing behind her. "You didn't give up on him when he was lying in that hospital, dying! So he sure as Hell is going to do whatever he can to save you! He will always do that! Just like you did for him because he's your brother! You knew you would end up here! Before you went to Hell, in that dream where you came across yourself, and that other you talked about how when you look in the mirror you hate what you see and his eyes went black and he told you that this," she pointed at him, tears streaming down her face, "was what you'd become! And you did! You did! Just not in the way you thought it would happen and back then you would have wanted Sammy to do everything he could to save you from that fate! And he's trying to save you now! He's your brother Dean! And he will never, ever give up on you, just like you wouldn't give up on him!" She stepped back, crying, trembling. Dean stared at her, the smirk that had been on his face gone.

Sam gently grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of the circle. He gently removed her glasses before wiping some stray tears away and pulling her to him. "Hey, it's-," he had no idea what to say. He'd had no idea about what she just said about Dean coming across himself. It shocked him that Dean had already seen himself as a demon. "Come on; let's get you out of here for a minute. I'm gonna call Cas okay? Go get yourself something to drink."

Elle just shook her head and continued to keep her face pressed into his blue plaid shirt, staining it with her tears. If she wasn't so upset she might just laugh at the fact that she was ruining one of the Winchester's trademark shirts.

Sam guided them out of the room a little and pulled out his phone. Elle had been the one trying to comfort Sam from his brother's harsh words and now he was comforting her. He supposed there was more to it though. He honestly had been wondering if she'd have some kind of outburst or breakdown since coming to a new world, finding out her favorite show and characters were real, and knowing that she was important in who knew what. He kept a comforting arm around her as he talked to Cas. By the time he hung up the phone she'd composed herself, her glasses back in place.

 **Elle: #SorryAboutThatSam**

 **Sam: #Don'tWorryAboutIt**

 **Dean: #YouTwoAreGonnaMakeMeSick**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Enjoy!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Royal Blood-Figure It Out**

 **The Cocteau Twins-Pearly Dewdrops' Drop**

Chapter 8

Sam and Elle looked to Dean to see him passed out and they rushed forward.

"Dean! Come on!" Sam said. "Come back."

Dean, rather weakly, said no.

"Come back to me. You there? Hey! Dean, you okay?"

Dean groaned. "Yeah, if you…consider that drowning in your own sweat while your blood boils okay."

Sam stood up from where he'd been kneeling before Dean. "Look, I can't stop doing this."

"Sure you can. You just stop. There's no point in trying to bring your brother back now."

"Oh, I _will_ bring him back."

"In fact, your, uh, guilt-ridden, weight-of-the-world bro has been M.I.A. for quite some time now," he looked to Elle. "The hunter that you love so much…ah, don't try it. I can see the way you've been lookin' at me since you first saw me in the bar, even behind the fear. You love me, or the old me, well he's gone." He turned back to Sam and Elle's face was stunned for a moment at Dean's words. "But I'm lovin' the new model-lean, mean, Dean."

"Right," Sam said.

"You notice I tried to get as far away from you as possible? Away from your whining, your complaining. I chose the king of Hell over you. Maybe I was just…tired of babysitting you or, like Elle here just reminded me, always having to yank your lame ass out of the fire since, forever. Or maybe-maybe it was the fact that my mother would still be alive if it wasn't for you."

Sam kept his eyes on Elle as she sat back down on the table, sitting crisscross-applesauce.

Dean continued though, "That your very existence sucked the life out of my life."

Sam turned around and Elle almost laughed when she saw his bitch face, she would have if it wasn't for the current situation. "This isn't my brother talkin'."

"You never had a brother—just an excuse for not manning up. But guess what, I quit."

"No. No, you don't." Sam pointed at Dean. "You don't get to quit. We don't get to quit in this family. This family is all we have ever had! Like Elle just pointed out, who gets us out of situations like this one? Family!"

"Well, then, we got nothin'."

"Would you say that to dad?" Sam asked.

'Oh Hell,' Elle thought. He just opened a can of worms if there ever was one.

"Dad? Oh, _there's_ a prize. Here's a man who brainwashed us into wasting our lives fighting his losing battle."

Sam grabbed the filled syringe.

"Oh. Ooh. Is this you manning up?"

"This is me yanking your lame ass out of the fire," Sam answered before jabbing the needle into Dean's arm.

Dean grunted and closed his eyes.

"You're welcome." Sam put the empty syringe on the table. "Come on, Elle. Let's let Dean settle down for a bit."

Elle quickly hopped off the table and followed Sam out, glancing back at a coughing Dean before shutting the door behind her.

Elle gave Sam some time alone when she saw him go into Dean's room so she headed to the kitchen to get something to drink. She was leaning against a counter, drinking her second glass of ice water when Sam ran in, a ring of keys and the demon blade in his hands.

"Sam, what-" she was going to ask him what was wrong when she heard Dean yell 'Come on, Sammy! Don't you want to hang out with your big brother? Spend a little quality time?'

"I'm gonna lock the place down, you need to get out to the front, wait for Cas," Sam explained quickly.

Elle shook her head. "No way, I'm not leaving you."

"Elle," Sam started.

"I'm not going anywhere Sam," she insisted.

Sam didn't say anything else and Elle put down the glass and followed him.

When they got to the right place Elle unlocked the door while Sam stood guard. They entered the basement. "We're gonna' lock the place down. He'll come here and we'll lock him in."

Elle nodded and soon after Sam flipped the switch they could hear Dean's voice over the blaring. "Smart, Sam. Lockin' the place down. Doors won't open. I get it. But here's the thing. I don't wanna leave. Not till I find you two."

"Okay, come on Elle," Sam said, making a noise on purpose.

"Sammy! Elle! You're just makin' this worse for yourselves, man! Oh, by the way, you can blame yourself Sam for me gettin' loose. All that blood you pumped into me to make me human-well the less demon I was, the less the cuffs worked. And that devil's trap-well, I just walked right across it. It smarted. But still…"

Elle watched from behind Sam as he peeked around the corner to watch for Dean.

"Yeah, that's more like it."

Sam ran and shut the door on Dean, locking it.

"That's your big move?" Dean asked.

"Listen to me, Dean! We were getting close, okay? Just let me finish the treatments."

Elle was next to him now and shared a look with him when they didn't hear anything.

"Dean?" Sam called, just before there was a thud on the door.

Sam pulled Elle back with him, blade up.

"You act like I wanna' be cured."

Elle and Sam watched as Dean hammered through the wooden door and Dean's face appeared on the other side of it.

"Personally, I like the disease," Dean said, smirking at them through the hole in the door, before hacking at it again.

Sam turned to Elle. "Go!"

"What? Now? No!"

"Go! I mean it Elle!"

Elle was about to argue but the look on Sam's face made her keep her mouth closed. She was on her way to the dungeon. Sam wanted her to leave the bunker but there was no way in Hell she would do that. Maybe, while Dean was distracted by Sam, she could plunge another blood-filled syringe into him from behind.

She had the syringe in hand and was running back to where she left Sam when she screamed.

"Cas!?" she tried to catch her breath as she clutched on to the coat of the angel she'd just smacked into.

"Where are they?" Cas demanded.

"Follow me," Elle took off and they followed the sound of Dean's voice.

Rounding a corner they stopped, seeing Dean. Cas looked from Elle's eyes to the syringe in her hand and she nodded back, silently getting from him what he wanted, no needed, her to do.

Just as Sam had lowered the demon blade from Dean's neck and Dean lunged toward his brother, Cas grabbed Dean, yelling 'Now!" and Elle jammed the needle into the back of a growling Dean's neck. "It's over," Cas said. "It's over."

Dean collapsed onto the floor and Cas went down with him, keeping his grip on him.

~O.o~

They were back in the dungeon with Dean back in the devil's trap, still passed out, as Sam put another round of blood in him.

"What the Hell are we doing to him, Cas? I mean even after I gave him all that blood, he still said he didn't wanna' be cured, that he didn't wanna' be human."

"Well…I see his point. You know, only humans can feel real joy, but…also such profound pain. This is easier."

Elle's heart broke for Dean at Cas' words. Dean wanted to remain a demon to escape all the pain that accompanied being human, being a hunter.

They all watched as Dean seemed to return to consciousness. Sam began to twist the lid off the tin of Holy water while Cas held up his angel blade and Elle the demon blade. Dean's eyes were black when he looked up and as he blinked the black faded, revealing his green eyes once again.

"You look worried, fellas, and gal."

Sam splashed him with Holy water but nothing happened. "Welcome back, Dean."

Cas and Elle smiled as Dean took in what had happened and if Elle was completely honest, he didn't look too happy, why though, she couldn't be sure. It could be because he really had wanted to remain a demon, or it could be that he was upset with himself as he realized what had happened.

~O.o~

Elle was talking to Cas while Sam was talking with Dean in his room.

"So, you could get a message to my parents? Let them know I'm okay?" Elle asked Cas.

"Yes. With this borrowed grace it should be safe for me to visit with your parents."

"Can I go with you?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid that would be too dangerous. If a demon was sent after you there could be more in your world, even watching your parents, expecting you to return. I'll be sure to have an angel set to guard them just in case."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"I haven't worked that out yet."

"What if I wrote them a letter? They'd know my handwriting. Or you could do that angel thing where you put your fingers to their heads and show them that I'm all right?"

"Both of those options would comfort them with the knowledge that you are well."

"Okay, I'll write that letter for you now."

"What are you writing a letter for?" Sam asked, coming in to the room.

"Oh, so Cas can take it to my parents in my world. Yeah, I'm not gonna get used to saying that anytime soon."

Sam chuckled. Elle could tell he was exhausted.

"How's Dean doin'?" Cas asked.

"He's uh…he's still a little out of it, but better, I think. I mean, I think this whole thing-the blood cure and the…all of it-really wrecked him, you know?"

"Yeah," Cas said.

"On the plus side, he's hungry again, so I'm just gonna go pick him up a big ol' bag of crap food and stuff it in his face myself. You guys mind keeping an eye?"

Elle nodded.

"Yeah," Cas started. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"You realize-one problem is solved, but one still remains. Dean is no longer a demon. That's true. But the Mark of Cain-that, he still has, and sooner or later. That's gonna be an issue."

"You know what, Cas? I'm beat, man. One battle at a time, you know? So I'm just gonna go grab my brother some cholesterol. And then I'm gonna get drunk."

"Hey Sam," Elle said.

"Yeah?"

"You sure you don't want me to come with?"

"No, thanks, but I need a ride to myself for a little bit."

Elle nodded. "Be careful."

Sam smiled and stepped forward, pulling Elle in for a hug. Elle squeezed him back before he let go. "So, when are you gonna go meet the real Dean, Dean-girl?"

Elle sighed and looked down at her well-worn black Keds.

"Hey," Sam said. "He'll like you. I mean you haven't been around me a week and I already, well, I don't mind having you around."

Elle beamed at him and he ruffled her hair. She giggled and swatted his hand away. "Go get your bro that food." When Sam was almost to the door she yelled. "And don't forget the pie!"

Sam barked out a laugh as he left the room.

Elle decided to get to work on that letter while Cas went to talk to Dean.

Cas was about to leave Dean's room when Dean spoke up. "Hey, where's uh, where's Elle?"

"She's in the library."

"I should, uh, I should talk to her, probably."

"That might be a good idea. Although I would be careful. Sam told me you know about why she's here, where she's from. I think she's a fan, I mean Sam just referred to her as a Dean-girl? I'm not quite sure what that means, do you?"

Dean made a face that said he had no clue as he got up to follow Cas to the library.

Elle looked up from the envelope she was sealing when Cas and Dean came in to the room.

"All done?" Cas asked.

"Yeah, here you go." She handed him the letter and he pocketed it. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can after I visit your parents."

"Okay, thank you Cas…Hey Cas," Elle called, walking up behind him as he left. "You be careful too okay?"

Cas nodded and, smiling, took a cue from what Sam did earlier and pulled Elle in to a brief hug. When they separated he spoke, his head tilting to one side. "You know, your aura is, strange."

"My aura?"

"Yes. It's quite, pure. One of the purest I've ever seen now that I'm paying attention. Interesting. Perhaps you'll be a gentle influence on Sam and Dean."

"What do you mean by that?" Elle asked, looking behind her to Dean who was watching the girl and the angel closely.

"Maybe that's why you're important. Not because you're some kind of, warrior, but because you'll be important to the boys. It's quite obvious how quickly you and Sam have taken to one another."

Elle wasn't sure what to say to any of that so she just smiled at Cas who turned and left.

Dean cleared his throat and Elle turned around.

"Well, that was, interesting," Dean spoke up.

Elle laughed nervously. "Yeah."

"I want to thank you," Dean said.

"For what?"

"For being here with Sam, even if it hasn't been that long. I'm glad you stayed in the room with us when he was, uh, you know. I know he offered you the chance to leave the bunker before he locked it down, didn't he?"

Elle nodded.

"But you stayed. You stayed with Sam. Thank you."

"You're welcome, but I didn't do it for…"

"I know, I know, I just. It's nice to see him so protective of you, even if you two aren't, you know."

Elle blushed.

"I'm sorry about all that too, the jibes and threatening to kill you."

"You don't have to apologize Dean. That wasn't you," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"I know, but, I mean how bad must it suck to meet your favorite character and he's a demon that threatens you."

She shrugged. "Crowley's one of my favorite characters too and he's a demon."

"Seriously?"

"He's a great character," she shrugged.

"Yeah, he's a character all right. Look, uh, since I'm your favorite and all, maybe I can make it up to you, huh?"

"I think you need to make up with Sam more. How do you know you're my favorite?"

"Oh, I was just messing with you." Dean got a mischievous grin on his face that made Elle's stomach flutter. "What's a Dean-girl?"

Elle's eyes widened. "Oh, uh…" she laughed nervously as she felt the blood rushing to her face. "Well, there are, there are Sam-girls and Dean-girls, like from the very first episode. I mean I love Sam but I love you. I mean…you know, I like Sam but I like you m-more, well not more, just differently. I mean…" Elle was thanking the Lord when Sam came up the stairs with bags of fast-food and booze. "Sam! Let me help you with those," she called much too eagerly.

"Thanks." He saw her face as she took some of the bags from him. "Are you okay?"

"Oh," Dean started. "She was just explaining to me what a Dean-girl is."

"You didn't say anything to him," Elle said, mortified.

Sam gave a quiet laugh and shook his head.

 **Elle: #I'mGonnaKillYouCas**

 **Cas: #Sorry**

 **Dean: Walks off laughing**

 **AN: Well, that's all I have for you guys right now. Thank you for taking the time to read this! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Do you like Elle? Is it believable? How would you have reacted in her situation? What would you like to see with Elle and Team Free Will?**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Well, it's been a while! But now with the Hellatus I figured we all need some more Sam and Dean to pass the time. Thank you guys so much for the follows, favorites, and reviews! You guys are awesome! Enjoy and sorry for the absence!**

 **Playlist:**

 **Willamette Stone-Never Coming Down**

Chapter 9

Elle couldn't help the giggles as she sat at a table in the bunker across from Sam and Dean. They were chowing down on cheeseburgers, onion rings, and for Elle and Dean, apple pie.

Dean got up to go get two more cold beers. "More cherry coke?" he asked Elle.

"I'm good Dean, thanks," she smiled before taking a sip of her drink.

"So," Sam started after Dean was out of ear-shot. "What do you think of Dean?"

Elle blushed and looked away from Sam's gaze before taking a nervous sip of her coke.

"Come on," Sam said. "Dean-girl."

Elle rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as Sam chuckled lightly. "He's…kind of great," she said so low it was almost a whisper.

Sam smirked. "Kind of great? You can barely take your eyes off him."

Elle's eyes widened. She had no idea she'd been doing that and she prayed Dean hadn't noticed. "You are so enjoying this," Elle said, kicking Sam's boot under the table.

"Hey, hey! No footsie in the bunker."

Elle looked up to see a smirking Dean walking back over to them. He put a beer in front of Sam as he sat back down with his own. "So, I was thinking, maybe after a day of rest we could pack a cooler and some snacks and drive out to the lake for a day," he suggested, looking between Sam and Elle to see what they thought.

"That sounds good," Sam said.

"Yeah, you two need some bro-time," Elle said.

"What? You're coming too," Dean said before popping an onion ring in his mouth and looking at her.

Elle looked back and forth between the brothers. "That's okay. I can stay here. I don't mind."

"Why would you want to stay here?" Dean asked.

"Like I said, bro-time. You two have been apart for months and I don't want to be in your way too much."

Dean took a swig of his beer and leaned back in his chair. "Sam and Cas have promised to look out for you, and now, I'm promising to look out for you too and that includes relaxing on the water with us."

Elle bit her lip before answering. "All right. But let me put some food together then."

"Deal," Dean said.

~O.o~

Elle was spread out on a blanket on the grass near Sam's chair, her nose in the copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ Sam had picked up for her the night before on the grocery run to get the things Elle said she would need for their outing today.

"How you doing?" Sam asked Dean and Elle looked up from her book so she could pay attention to Dean's reply.

"Golden, man."

"Come on."

"Seriously I'm good. I am. You know, we've got three more cases of this stuff on ice in the trunk takin some 'we time'. Best decision we ever made."

"Here that," Sam said and the boys toasted with their beers.

Dean looked over to Elle and motioned with his beer. "You sure you don't want one of these?"

"No thanks," Elle smiled. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself. So, tell us more about you."

"Like what?" Elle asked, pulling herself up so she was facing them and then crossing her legs.

"Like, anything."

"Um, well my family used to go camping a lot."

"Nice. So you like to camp, you like to read, you like us, what else?" Dean continued.

"Um, I-I don't know. I don't think I'm very interesting," she replied, playing with the string dangling from her bookmark and avoiding their gazes.

"What? Come on. Let's see, you can cook. You made all the food and snacks for today and you were up til' midnight baking cookies too."

"And I happen to know you both ate half of them before we even got here," Elle teased, smiling up at them.

"Well if you can figure out a way to not have the bunker fill with the smell of baking cookies we might not," Dean answered, smiling back at her.

Elle laughed before lying back down on the blanket and closing her eyes. "This is nice. You know we don't get to see you guys do this that often on the show."

"Do what?" Sam asked.

"This. Just chill and hang out. No monsters, no fighting."

After a moment Dean spoke up, "Speaking of monsters, either of you see the thing in the paper this morning?"

Elle sighed.

"Maybe it was an animal kill," Sam said.

"It was _three_ kills, and it was in the same town, all within the last month."

"Yeah, you're right. We should call some guys, have 'em fix it."

"Good. Smart."

"Done."

"Or…we could be in and out. It's a milk run," Dean kept on.

"Right, because that happens, never."

Dean took off his sunglasses. "Look, Sam, what we're doing here, its good okay? You and me and Elle hanging out. But I need to work. I need this."

Sam took off his sunglasses as well. "If things go sideways…I mean, like, an _inch_ , you gotta' give me the heads-up."

"Done. You got my word."

After Dean rose from his chair Sam stood as well. "Hey, why don't we eat lunch here first before we head back?"

Elle was standing now too and watched as Dean nodded and as they ate chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, and more chocolate chip cookies at the picnic table, Elle noticed the boys give each other a look. Sam turned to Elle and she looked up at his face from her seat on the bench next to him.

"Dean and I think it would be best if you stayed at the bunker for this one."

"But you promised to show me the ropes," Elle said, the disappointment coming out in her tone.

"I know and we both will but you need to be able to defend yourself out there first," Sam said, genuinely concerned for her safety.

Dean cut in, "What Sam is trying to say is, we'd feel better if you had some basics under your belt. Using a gun for instance."

"I was on the rifle team in high school. I can aim, I promise."

"Oh, well, hey that's cool, there's another thing about you," Dean said. "but I mean all kinds of guns. And using knives and you're…"

"Kind of small," Sam said.

"What?"

"You're like five foot three. You're a tiny thing. If something gets its hands on you you gotta' know how to get out of that."

"Sam you just said this was a milk run though," she tried.

Sam sighed. "I know."

"If you two really want me to stay behind then I will. I can…help with research on the Mark," she suggested. While did want to go on a hunt with the boys she was also rather nervous about it and agreed that she probably did need to have some training first.

"Good idea," Sam said.

"Great," Dean added. "We'll call to check up on you all right?"

"Shouldn't it be the other way around...what?" she asked at the boys' looks. "I'll worry. You don't know what it's like watching an episode of Supernatural. New or old episodes there can be a lot of cringing and yelling and freaking out and full on tears, okay?"

Sam just chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders. "We'll be okay."

~O.o~

When the boys got back Elle was glad to see them. They'd called ahead to let her know they were a few hours out so she decided to have some more cookies ready for them when they got there even though it was late. When the boys arrived back Sam called out her name but there was no answer. He glanced at Dean before going further into the bunker.

"I smell peanut butter cookies," Dean said, nodding over at Sam.

Sam just smirked and shook his head. When they walked into the library they saw Elle with her head on a thick book. She'd fallen asleep trying to find anything on the Mark. The plate of cookies Dean had smelled was set out on the table in front of her.

Sam couldn't help but smile as he put his bag down on the table and headed over to her. Dean watched as his brother effortlessly scooped Elle up in his arms and carried her down the hall to her room.

Sam pulled the comforter and sheet down on Elle's bed and placed her on her bed. He untied the laces of her Keds and removed them from her feet and took her glasses off her face for her.

"Mmmm Sam?"

Sam looked down at Elle, her eyes squinting in the light. "You're back. You're okay. I tried to stay awake but-"

"Don't worry about it," Dean said from the doorway, a stack of cookies in his hand. "We're okay. It was a milk run, like I said."

" 'Cause that ever happens. I'll give you guys hugs in the morning," Elle mumbled as she rolled over on her side and quickly went back to sleep.

When Elle woke up the next morning she felt good and well-rested. She had to admit she hadn't slept all that well being alone in the bunker and with the boys out on the road. She knew they could take care of themselves but she just couldn't help it.

~O.o~

Elle woke the next morning and headed into the kitchen to make some tea and a few minutes later, with a cup of Oolong in hand, she went to the library.

"Are you watching _Scandal_!?" she asked Sam.

He jumped in his seat and slapped the top of his laptop down. "What? No. Why?" he answered quickly and Elle could tell by the way he was looking everywhere but her face that he was lying.

Elle sat her cup of tea down on the table and pulled a chair up right next to Sam's. "I love that episode. Olivia is such a badass."

Sam chuckled and opened his laptop again. "We should probably keep this between us," he said.

Elle nodded.

Two episodes later Elle was curled into Sam's side when Dean came into the room. "Whatcha watching?" he asked, leaning over Sam's shoulder.

Sam slammed his laptop shut again. "Uh, nothing. Breakfast?" He rose from his seat and quickly headed to the kitchen.

Dean just shrugged and sat down across from Elle with a cup of coffee. He held his cup up, "Coffee?"

"No thanks." She gestured to her own cup. "I'm more of a tea person."

Dean shrugged. "So, I was thinking we could do some training today."

Elle perked up in her seat. "Like what?"

An hour later, after a breakfast of eggs, toast, and bacon, courtesy of Sam, Elle followed Dean into the library where he sat a Colt M1911 on a table and gestured for her to sit.

"Alright, I'm going to show you how to take this baby apart, clean it, and put it back together. A hunter has to have his weapons in good condition."

Two hours later Elle was smiling at a smiling Dean Winchester. He'd walked her through it step by step and then had her do it on her own. She'd forgotten a couple steps but Dean assured her she'd get the hang of it.

"So," Dean started. "Please tell me you're Team Jake."

Elle's eyes widened and then she quickly smiled. "Actually I'm Team Fitz all the way."

"Of course you are," Dean sighed.

"So is Sam."

"Where did I go wrong," Dean joked and Elle laughed.

"How's it going?"

Elle turned to see Sam come in to the library.

"I was just about to explain to Dean why he should ship Olitz."

"Wait, you're Team Jake?" Sam asked his brother. "You can't be serious."

"Of course I am. The dude is badass and he's way better for Liv than Fitz." He turned to Elle, "What's 'ship' mean?"

~O.o~

A few days later they were staying at a Motel. They had just wrapped up a case a state over and had stopped for the night to get some much needed shut eye. Both Sam and Dean had insisted that Elle take one of the beds and one of them would take the couch. Elle refused, winning out by pointing out that she was the only one short enough that could actually sleep on it comfortably. Everyone was so tired that they all agreed rather quickly and they were soon out. When the shower turned on in the morning Elle woke up to see that Dean's bed was vacant. She groggily unscrambled herself from her red throw that was covering her and slid under the inviting covers. Ten minutes later Dean came out of the bathroom.

"Are you jacking my bed?" Dean asked her.

"Mmmm. The couch sucked," was her answer.

Dean chuckled. "Have at it."

Elle turned from her side to her stomach and took a deep breath in. "Son of a bitch, it smells like him," she mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" Dean asked, tying the laces on his boot.

"What? S'nothing," Elle mumbled before taking another deep breath and, not being able to help it, smiled into the pillow before falling back to sleep.

An hour and a half later Sam was in the shower and Dean was back with breakfast, shaking Elle awake, a hand on her shoulder.

She blinked a few times and sat up to see a fast food bag being waved in front of her face. She sat up and took the bag from Dean.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, tossing her a bottle of apple juice. "Sam's is over here. I'll be outside working on Baby."

Elle nodded and ate her breakfast in bed while Sam was still in the shower. When Sam came out of the bathroom he immediately went for his breakfast and opened up his laptop. Elle was about to get out of bed when her eyes went wide.

"Um, Sam?"

He looked over his laptop at her. "Yeah?"

"Could you, um, look away for a sec?"

"What? Why?"

"I kind of kicked my jeans off in the middle of the night," she nodded towards the denim in a ball on the floor beside the couch.

"Oh, uh, sure. Do you want your bag?"

"Yes please."

He grabbed her small pink duffel and sat it on the bed in front of her where she plucked out her toiletry bag and some clean clothes. "Okay Sam," she had her things tucked in her arms, "No looking."

Sam closed his eyes and Elle jumped up and quickly went in the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Twenty minutes later she came back out dressed in a fresh pair of black skinny jeans and a red, black, and white Twenty One Pilots t-shirt.

"Hey, We're gonna hit the road. Dean thinks we might have a case."

'"You don't sound like you agree."

"Dean just, really wants a case right now, he wants to work."

Elle nodded, understanding.

~O.o~

They were at an all-girls school in Michigan. They'd stopped along the way to grab lunch and change into their FBI getups. As soon as they were in the auditorium they all collectively turned to their right at a familiar word:

"Idjits. Ya idjits. You are idjits."

"Hey ass-butt. Hey ass-butt!"

"John and Mary husband and wife, bringing home a brand new life, his name is Sammy, I'm big brother Dean! The perfectly family or so it seemed. The demon's visits had begun. It believed Sam was the chosen one. It burned my mother and it cursed my brother leaving us in tears. On the road so far, yeah the road so far we are in dad's car-CUT!"

Sam and Dean's shocked faces were a contrast to Elle's face which was filled with excitement.

"What in the holy-" Dean started.

"There is a case. Probably has somethin' to do with all this," Sam interrupted.

"You think?"

"Awesome," Elle said and both boys turned to look at her with disbelief on their faces. "What?"

Now they were talking to Marie and pulling out their badges when Sam quickly made them put them up.

"I'm, uh, special agent Smith. This is my partner special agent-"

"Smith," Dean supplied.

"Smith. No relation. And this is our special agent in training-"

"Pope," Elle smiled.

"We're here to look into the disappearance-"

Dean cut Sam off, "There is no singing in Supernatural."

"Well, this is Marie's interpretation," the girl introduced as Maeve said.

"Aha, well I mean if there was singing, you know, and that's a big if, if there was singing it would be classic rock not this Andrew Floyd Weber crap," Dean said, flustered.

"Andrew Lloyd Weber," both Sam and Elle corrected him.

"What?"

"Well you know we do sing a cover of Carry on Wayward Son in the second act."

"Really?" Sam asked.

"It's a classic," Dean, Elle, and Marie all said at the same time.

"Right, anyways, we're here to talk about the disappearance of Ms. Chandler."

As they were talking Dean just looked more and more uncomfortable and as the girls walked away Dean spoke, "I'm gonna throw up."

Elle gave him a 'oh come on' look.

Sam spoke, "I mean I gotta say it's kind of charming the production value and-" he saw Dean's 'done with this shit' face and stopped-"no? No? I'm gonna check for EMF, you, you look for cursed objects."

Elle decided it was probably best to let Dean deal with this on his own for now. "I'm gonna look around too," she said, awkwardly pointing anywhere while Dean still had that same look on his face.

When Dean and Marie came back on stage Elle joined them. Narrowing her eyes when she realized Dean was literally telling Marie about what happened, including him becoming a Knight of Hell. She walked up to him and at the same time he did, noticed the two girls playing Cas and Dean were quite comfortable with one another.

"What are they doing?" Dean asked, looking rather concerned as he pointed at the embracing pair.

Elle rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smirk on her face as Marie answered him.

"Um…kids these days call it hugging."

"Is that in the show?"

"Oh. No. Siobhan and Kristen are a couple in real life. Although we do explore the nature of Destiel in act two."

Elle got excited at hearing that but Dean, not so much. "Sorry, what?"

"Oh, it's just subtext. But then again, you know, you can't spell subtext without S-E-X."

Dean made one of his 'really' faces and Elle laughed. She wrapped her right arm around his left as Marie walked away.

"Come on Dean, don't look so offended. This is all just fun."

Dean looked down at her and gave her that same disapproving look from seconds ago. "Fun? You call this" he used his other arm to gesture around him, "fun? This is a nightmare."

Elle sighed and let go of him. "Come on, let's see if Sam found anything."

~O.o~

"I don't understand," Sam said as they were heading back to the Impala.

"Me neither," Dean said.

"I mean, shouldn't it be 'Deastiel'?"

Elle pressed her lips together, hiding a smile, as she walked behind the boys.

"Really? That's your issue with this?"

"No. Of course it's not my issue. You know, how about 'Sastiel'? 'Samstiel'?

Elle's eyes widened. Did Sam Winchester just ship himself with Castiel?

"Okay, all right, you know what? You're gonna do that thing where you just shut the hell up forever," Dean said, becoming more annoyed by the second.

Sam laughed and Elle tried hard not to. Dean was rather cute when he was annoyed though.

"Uh, look, we had no EMF. No hex bags. None of their props are even remotely hinky. Other than the Charlie Kaufman of it all, I got nothing. You?" Sam asked.

"Ms. Chandler's office was just a pile of empty bottles and regret. She's probably face down in a bar somewhere or a ditch. All right, so, what, this whole musical thing, everything, it's just-? It's all a coincidence? There is no case?" Dean asked, not convinced.

"Unless you're seeing something I'm not, no, Dean, there's no case here."

"I wouldn't be so sure Sam, I mean, when is anything just a coincidence with you two?" Elle asked.

Sam and Dean both looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay," Dean spoke, "let's just get a motel, get something to eat and if anything comes up…"

Sam shrugged and Elle agreed with Dean.

Dean went around to get in the Impala.

"Casdean?" Sam asked.

Elle watched from next to Sam as Dean pointed at Sam, "Shut your face. Get in the car." He saw the smile on Elle's face and pointed at her. "You too."

Elle bit her lip to try and reign in her smile and looked away from Dean as she climbed into the backseat.

When they were on the road Elle leaned forward in her seat so she was at Sam's shoulder. "For the record, I think Sastiel sounds better."

Dean turned the music up, _Blue Oyster Cult_ blaring through the speakers over Elle and Sam's chuckles.

The next morning they were back at the school and they'd just figured out that it was not, in fact, a Tulpa but the goddess Calliope of epic poetry and Marie was currently freaking out, breathing into a paper bag.

"You guys rally Marie. I'm gonna grab some wooden stakes from the trunk and do the blessing," Sam said.

Dean didn't look thrilled with that but Elle turned to him and tilted her head toward Marie.

"Is Marie gonna get eaten?" Maeve asked.

"Not gonna happen," Dean assured her. "Soon as that curtain rises, we are gonna be there to take out this Calliope." He moved so he was kneeling in front of a still panicking Marie. "Hey. Hey. How you doin', champ?"

"This-this is all my fault. If I hadn't written this dumb play, none of this would have happened."

"Okay, well, first of all, the play's not dumb," Dean started.

"I thought you didn't believe in this interpretation," Maeve said.

"Yeah, I don't. Like, at all. But you do, okay?" he pointed at Marie. "And I need you to believe in it with all you got so that we can kill Calliope and we can save your friends. Can you do that?"

Marie looked hesitant so Elle kneeled down next to Dean. "I think what Dean is saying is that while he doesn't believe in your interpretation, he gets it." She looked at Dean who opened his mouth and paused a moment before nodding. "See? Your…our interpretations of _Supernatural_ , all the fanfic and the art and everything else, they're all our different ways of showing our love for _Supernatural_ in the best ways we know how. Yeah, the stuff we write will likely never be canon but that's okay. That's one reason why I love being part of the SPN family. We can all come together and share and support and…and just bond over the ways we show our love for _Supernatural_ and for the characters, for Sam and Dean." She glanced over at Dean who was watching her intently. "You can do this Marie."

"Yeah. You're right. If Sam and Dean were real, they wouldn't back down from a fight."

Dean waved a finger at her in agreement and smiled.

"Especially my sweet, brave, selfless Sam." Dean looked a little taken aback but Marie continued. "There's nothing he can't do."

"No," Dean said, looking away and meeting Elle's eyes.

Elle let out a quiet laugh and turned back to Marie.

"Okay," Marie said. "Let's do this. I understudy Sam, so…I used this for my one-woman _Orphan Black_ show last year. But it's gonna' have to work for Sam." She placed the wig she'd just mentioned on her head. "Writer. Director. Actor. I'm gonna' Barbara Streisand this bitch."

Now the show was about to start and Dean was in the middle of giving the cast a rallying speech. "I know I have expressed some differences of opinion regarding this version of _Supernatural._ Uh, but tonight is all about Marie's vision. This is Marie's _Supernatural._ So I want you to get out there, and I want you to stand as close as she wants you to and I want you to put as much sub into that text as you possibly can. There is no other road, no other way, no day but today. Now you get out there and you kick it in the ass."

When they gathered up and yelled "Ghostfacers" Sam, Dean, and Elle all shared looks of exasperation.

Marie went out onto the stage and Dean turned to Elle. "All right, here's your wooden stake, but be careful. Let me get it if you can."

"Dean-"

He cut her off, "Let's do this."

Elle looked at Sam and let out a sigh. Sam pat her on the back. "He's just being protective."

"I know, but, if push comes to shove I can do this Sam."

"I know you can. But, like Dean said, be careful."

"You too."

Elle went to the other side of the stage, opposite from Dean. He spotted her and tilted his chin and she nodded back.

Into the song, "A Single Man Tear" Elle spotted the scarecrow as it appeared a few feet in front of her and on stage. But when she went for it Dean was already on his way, running across the stage and tackling it before she was even in view of the audience. As it punched Dean and rolled it off him she lunged at it but it was fast and it knocked the stake out of her hand before standing. It grabbed her by the front of her blazer and tossed her away and out of view. As it turned around Dean stabbed it but to no effect and it tossed Dean across the stage and into a prop, the prop smashing into pieces. Elle got her to her feet and watched Dean attack the scarecrow on stage. With the wooden stakes apparently not working on it Dean had decided to attack it with what he could only for it to knock him down again. Elle picked up her stake anyway and ran at it from behind and as soon as the stake went through it, once again to no effect whatsoever, it grabbed her and tossed her off the stage where she landed painfully in front of the man with the glasses that had pulled on his rain poncho. She sat up in time to see Marie stab it with a wooden stake only this time it seemed to work. At the edge of the stage it exploded and purple goo went all over the first few rows. Elle looked up and removed her goo covered glasses and cleaned them the best she could on the underside of her shirt. She was just as shocked as the rest of the audience. Then the man with the poncho stood and started clapping. Everyone followed suit and so did Elle. She winced a bit from hitting the floor so hard, twice, but clapped as well and caught Dean's eye and, covered head to toe in purple goo, gave him a thumbs up as he took his own little bow and the curtain began to close.

Elle met Sam and Dean back stage and she could see both boys smirking.

"I'm covered in monster ick," she said flatly. Her glasses were still a little smeared with it after trying to clean them off.

"Yeah, well, you better get used to it," Dean said, causing Sam to chuckle.

She stood there with them as the scene started and the cast started to come together to sing "Carry on My Wayward Son."

Elle got chills as the song started and since she was standing in between them she grabbed each of their arms and pulled them closer, getting monster goo on their suits. This was the first time Sam and Dean were hearing "Carry On" as their song and Elle's eyes teared up a bit but she blinked any possible tears away.

Afterwards they went back to the motel so Elle could shower and change and then they hit the road. Elle watched from the backseat as Dean took the prop Samulet Marie had given him and hung it on the rearview mirror. She smiled from her seat behind Sam and pressed her forehead against the window, closing her eyes and waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in.

 **Elle: Um, Candyfairey, I think you forgot the Adam bit.**

 **Candyfairey: Oops, sorry.**

 **Sam and Dean: We know the feeling.**

 **Elle: Gives them all a disapproving look.**

 **#AlwaysKeepFighting #LoveYourselfFirst #WeAreEnough**


End file.
